Seed-Starting Chart

We've put together a handy guide to help you figure out when to germinate and when to plant your seedlings.

Timing is everything. To start your seeds on time, you need to know when in relation to the frost-free date in spring to plant them. If you need help determining your spring frost-free date, call your county extension agent who can tell you for certain. And for transplanting tips, read these Secrets To Successful Planting.

How To Use This Plan
Print the seed starting chart below. Write your frost-free date in the blank space at the top of the chart. Get a calendar and add or subtract the number of weeks in the "Safe To Set Out Time" column. This is the "Setting Out Date." It tells you when you can safely plant the crop in the garden. Write it in the last column. Take each date from Column 5 ("Setting Out Date"), subtract the number of weeks shown for that crop in column 3 ("Weeks from Sowing") and record that date in column 2 ("When to Start Inside").

Advertising helps us deliver the articles you love at no charge to you

Please enter your email or disable your adblocker to access all content on

Signing Out...

Are you sure you want to log out?

If you are the only person using this device,
there’s no need to log out. Just exit this page
and you won’t have to sign in again. But if
you’re on a public or shared computer, log out
to keep your account secure.